Steve Darling.

Darling's most notable recent actions have been on assisted dying. He broke with his party five times on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill — voting against its Third Reading and backing several tightening amendments, including one that would have barred applications where the wish to die was substantially driven by feeling a burden, mental disorder, disability, or financial hardship. That puts him 31 percentage points above the Liberal Democrat average on assisted dying restrictions. Beyond Westminster, he has been publicly vocal in opposing government welfare cuts and pension changes — describing one proposal as "feckless and dangerous" — coverage that has drawn broadly neutral local sentiment across 31 articles in the past 90 days.

Darling votes with the Liberal Democrats 98.4% of the time, but his participation rate of 67% sits below the Commons average. His speeches — 426 contributions across 226 debates — cluster heavily around the economy, social care, fiscal policy, and the labour market, with local government and cost of living also featuring regularly. His stance data shows strong alignment with parliamentary scrutiny (96%) and Lords oversight (100%), and he leans against tax increases (92%) and the government's agenda (8% alignment). He opposed the planning regulations that would have shifted small planning decisions away from elected councillors to officers — consistent with a pro-local-democracy instinct, though his overall score on that dimension is only 54%.

Context for interpreting his record: Darling sits on the Work and Pensions Committee, which helps explain the concentration of speeches on social care and fiscal policy, as well as his public opposition to welfare cuts. He spent roughly 30 years as a Torbay councillor before entering Parliament, and his maiden speech focused on local crises — sewage, housing, and hospital conditions. News data goes back only 90 days for recent sentiment; the welfare and pensions coverage from April 2026 represents his highest-profile media moments to date.